Foot it

Perhaps foolishly, given my lack of free time I’ve decided to take part in the Foot it challenge. The aim: to see as many bird species as possible leaving and returning to the house entirely on foot. The real aim: to loose the beer gut. Another aim: to get in the top 5 of total species seen and get a few birds that nobody else manages. I’ve set myself a target of a 100 species, and have managed to get out a few times. 

Some of the routes I've covered so far

Here’s  a summary of my efforts so far:

First major effort of the year was last Sunday, when I meant for a stroll round Pendennis Point and on to Swanpool. Missed a few possibilities, such as Purple Sandpiper, but caught up with a the Red-necked Grebe at Castle Beach and found a Slavonian Grebe there as well, which was an unexpected bonus. They’re really hard to get down this way – actually the first I’ve seen in Cornwall. Total haul for the day: 50. Half way to the target.

Chiffchaff - a fairly common bird around Falmouth in winter. Managed to catch up with about 10 of them in Swanvale

Great spotted Woodpecker. No particular reason for showing this one other than the fact I failed to get any decent shots of scarcities

The next notable effort was a quick scoot round the Penryn River mid-week, before work. A wintering Common Sandpiper was an unexpected bonus. Total up to 61.

This weekend I decided to embark on my first lengthy walks. A 12 miler round past Flushing to Mylor on the Saturday, followed by a slightly shorter walk to College Reservoir on the Sunday. Highlights on the Saturday was a overwintering Whimbrel (there can’t be many foot it challengers who’ll manage this one), a Black Redstart and splendid views of Great Northern Divers and Black-necked Grebes. Sunday was a bit more disappointing, as I failed to see the Bittern and a few targets such s Marsh Tit. I did add a few though. Total now on 78. Here’s the complete breakdown

 Great Northern Diver. One of five giving their eerie calls.

 Bonus prize for guessing the species

Mylor Harbour - sailing home to Ben Ainslie. Always a pleasant place to go birding as well as Sailing. 

6^th January 2013

Falmouth:

1	Black-headed Gull
2	Lesser Black-backed Gull
3	Herring Gull
4	Great Black-backed Gull
5	Rock Dove / Feral Pigeon
6	Woodpigeon
7	Collared Dove
8	Pied Wagtail
9	Wren
10	Robin
11	Blackbird
12	Blue Tit
13	Jackdaw
14	Starling
15	House Sparrow

Pendennis Point:

16	Goldfinch
17	Cormorant
18	Shag
19	Buzzard
20	Med Gull
21	Meadow Pipit
22	Rock Pipit
23	Dunnock
24	Song Thrush
25	Long-tailed Tit
26	Great Tit
27	Magpie
28	Carrion Crow
29	Raven
30	Chaffinch

Castle Beach:

31	Red-necked Grebe
32	Slavonian Grebe

Swanpool:

33	Mute Swan
34	Canada Goose
35	Mallard
36	Tufted Duck
37	Little Grebe
38	Grey Heron
39	Moorhen
40	Coot
41	Kingfisher
42	Greenfinch

Swanvale:

43	Water Rail
44	Great Spotted Woodpecker
45	Grey Wagtail
46	Blackcap
47	Chiffchaff
48	Goldcrest
49	Jay
50	Siskin

8^th January 2013

Penryn River:

51	Teal
52	Little Egret
53	Sparrowhawk
54	Curlew
55	Common Sandpiper
56	Greenshank
57	Redshank
58	Green Woodpecker
59	Redwing
60	Firecrest
61	Coal Tit

Tremough:

62

Lapwing

10^th January 2013

63

Kestrel

12^th January 2013

Penryn River:

64

Fieldfare

Trefuses Point:

65	Oystercatcher
66	Whimbrel
67	Black Redstart
68	Linnet

Mylor Harbour:

69	Black-throated Diver
70	Great Northern Diver
71	Great Crested Grebe
72	Black-necked Grebe
73	Turnstone
74	Mistle Thrush

13^th January 2013

College Reservoir:

75	Wigeon
76	Goldeneye
77	Snipe
78	Bullfinch